(September 10, 2013) Playful but gutsy, sturdy yet impish — Kia’s dramatic new Niro urban-lifestyle concept, unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show today, hints at a possible future B-segment contender ready to take on the city environment with style and tenacity.

Ready for any challenge that the assured modern motorist may throw at it, the Niro combines a mischievous character in a clearly robust and substantial yet stylish body shape featuring a mix of contrasting materials in compact, purposeful dimensions.

Born out of Kia’s determination to seek new compact-car options for the individualistic and demanding driver for whom size is an issue, the concept features intriguing elements not always associated with smaller cars and has been created in Europe at Kia’s Frankfurt Design Studio with European tastes and expectations very much in mind.



Niro looks to bring an almost counter-4x4 image to the smaller B-segment.  Niro has the solidity and style of a solid-cast titanium watch case yet displays a nimble stance that hints at a readiness for action promising protection and capability.

Gregory Guillaume, chief designer at Kia’s Frankfurt office who led the concept team said: “Ten years ago people wanted understated style in the SUV market, but increasingly as more people migrate to the B-segment they are looking for strong character and individuality.

“We believe Niro is cheekier and even sleeker to show a clear spirited and intrepid character — a car that has the tenacity to deal with any challenge that comes its way,” he added.

But Niro is no purely functional mud-plugger!  Instead its muscular and resolute style will meet the needs of owners who insist on being where the action is and are excited at the prospect of getting down and dirty!

“It may have the looks of a Dakar contender but Niro has a strong premium feel thanks to contrasting advanced modern materials that mix brawn with spirit to deliver a playful vehicle ready to be part of an active lifestyle,” Guillaume commented further.

Although Niro has been created to deliver a sturdy and muscular outline, it has relatively compact dimensions on an all-new platform that will form the basis of future B-segment products from Kia.

The design team started with an aim of creating a clearly muscular and purposeful outline and the startling two-tone exterior look is enhanced by its wheel-at-each-corner stance but in the urban battleground its 164 inches overall length and 72-inch width place it firmly in the city-car bracket.

The signature “tiger-nose” grille outline, front and rear towing hooks, hood-located air outlet and other elements are highlighted in anodized “Limelight” aluminum.

Entry is by dihedral “butterfly” doors that open into the roof panel and swing up high and with low-set flush handles. Mounted directly onto the side windows are milled “Plexiglas” door mirrors with in-built downward-facing cameras.

At the rear, as well as a rearward-facing video camera the functional tailgate has a secret in store.  Part of the rear light cluster swings up as an essential element of the hatch architecture to give good light and visibility into the cargo space, leaving behind the secondary section of the cluster to ensure safety by ensuring other road users can still see the car in the dark.

The hatch opens onto a huge carbon-fibre clad cargo deck ready to swallow the equipment and gadgets the driver and passenger may need or for a suite of luggage if the destination is up-town rather than out-of-town.

Niro comes with a variant of Kia’s turbocharged 1.6-liter ‘Gamma’ engine, developing 158 horsepower.

In Niro the engine and seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission serve only the front wheels but an electric-hybrid system, powered from regenerative braking, delivers up to 45 horsepower to the rear wheels when road conditions require extra grip.